Congress Faults White House’s Katrina Response

What happened

A congressional report this week offered a blistering critique of the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, the killer storm that slammed into the Gulf Coast last fall, killing more than 1,300 people and flooding the city of New Orleans. The 600-page report by 11 Republican House members described a widespread pattern of 'œfecklessness, flailing, and organizational paralysis' involving every level of government. But the report singled out the Bush administration and the Department of Homeland Security for particular criticism, for the failure to evacuate the city and rescue tens of thousands of stranded people. 'œIf this is what happens when we have advance warning, we shudder to imagine the consequences when we do not,' said the report. 'œFour and a half years after 9/11, America is still not ready for prime time.'

In testimony before the Senate, former Federal Emergency Management Agency director Michael Brown—fired for his performance during Katrina—said he'd been scapegoated by the White House. Brown said he notified the White House on Aug. 29, the day the storm hit, that one of the New Orleans levees had failed and that the city was being flooded. He called the administration's claim that it was unaware of the levee breach until the next day 'œbaloney.' The White House refused to release e-mails from senior presidential advisors that might clarify the precise sequence of events. 'œThe president is less interested in yesterday and more interested with today and tomorrow,' said White House spokesman Allen Abney.

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What the editorials said

Maybe 'œtiming didn't matter to the White House last August,' said the New Orleans Times-Picayune. But 'œit mattered terribly to the people who were watching floodwaters rise by the minute.' If New Orleans had been evacuated in a more timely fashion, hundreds of lives could have been spared. Yet, so far at least, only one official has lost his job: the unfortunate Michael Brown. What about Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff, who did his job 'œlate, ineffectively, or not at all,' according to the report. 'œIf that's not grounds for dismissal, what is?'

The Bush administration still doesn't get it, said the Financial Times. As this congressional report rightly says, Katrina was 'œa national failure, an abdication of the most solemn obligation to provide for the common welfare.' Yet judging by the White House's response—a restructuring of FEMA that amounts to little more than 'œbureaucratic tinkering'—the Bush administration continues to view the threat of natural disaster as being altogether less worthy of their attention than the sexier, more politically useful threat of terrorism.

We still don't know the whole truth, said the San Jose Mercury News. Especially in the wake of this 'œunexpectedly blunt' report, the White House has an obligation to tell the public everything it knows about the bungled response to Katrina. It's not about assigning blame—'œalthough there is need for that.' The question is what the government plans to do differently the next time disaster strikes. 'œAmericans deserve an adequate answer.'

What the columnists said

'œDodging responsibility' is getting harder and harder for the Bush White House, said Derrick Jackson in The Boston Globe. The old 'œexecutive privilege' excuse for not turning over documents is sounding hollower every time it gets caught telling a whopper.

While partisans argue about what happened last August, said Jennifer Moses in The Washington Post, can I remind you that this disaster isn't over yet? Most of New Orleans continues to look like 'œNagasaki after the bomb.' The president pledged $85 billion to help the city recover—helpfully reminding residents that 'œ$85 billion is a lot'—yet nothing close to that amount has so far been spent. If the president prefers to focus on the present and the future, that's fine with us, because the city of New Orleans is currently on 'œlife-support.' Mr. President? 'œDon't pull the plug.'

What next?

The Washington Post